Pharma RFID System: BlueVector

BlueVector's RFID solution provides pharmaceutical industry with item-level track and trace, supply chain information accuracy, and integration with drug pedigree and authentication systems. ...

... "The system orchestrates two-way integration with software applications from SAP, Supplyscape, IBM, and others to provide real-time track and trace, authentication, and drug pedigree tracking system integration. In addition to populating these systems with properly filtered events from RFID readers and sensors, the Blue Vector system also retrieves data from these systems to automate the behavior of equipment and worker alerts. The Blue Vector system automatically distributes this downloaded data (which can include expected orders and the content of shipments) out to each individual point of automation - no matter where it is geographically located - where it is used to provide a degree of business awareness that isn't possible with other RFID systems. By knowing what is supposed to happen at a given operational step, the system can instantly alert workers or send signals to product handling equipment to prevent the movement of non-conforming product. " ...

Via Blue Vector: RFID Platform for Pharmaceutical Industry

RFID Pharma Supply Chain: Track and Trace EPCIS Pilot

AmerisourceBergen announces innovative Track and Trace Program that will benefit the pharmaceutical supply channel. Its pilot program connects AmerisourceBergen's EPCIS directly to other business partner EPCIS systems and to specific pharmaceutical manufacturer systems. In Q1-2007, VeriSign will provide authentication services and enable visibility across multiple EPCIS systems. ...

... "AmerisourceBergen has been a leader in protecting the integrity of the pharmaceutical supply channel, first by pledging over one year ago to purchase 100 percent of its pharmaceutical and other products directly from the product manufacturer, and now by launching a unique Track and Trace initiative which will utilize RFID and Electronic Product Code Information System (EPCIS) technology to track and trace products throughout the entire distribution process. AmerisourceBergen plans to formally launch the Track and Trace pilot program at its largest distribution center in California by the end of 2006. In the pilot, AmerisourceBergen will use IBM's RFID middleware and embedded software on readers to read RFID tags currently used by certain pharmaceutical manufacturers as those products enter the distribution center. The unique product ID from each RFID tag will be electronically stored in IBM's EPCIS, which will be the platform for secure electronic communications back to the product's manufacturer. This secure information exchange will allow AmerisourceBergen and its trading partners to work collaboratively to share transaction information and further secure the supply channel. As new orders come into the AmerisourceBergen distribution center, the RFID system can monitor product placed in shipping totes as they move through the picking, packing, and shipping processes. As each tote leaves the distribution center the EPCIS software will record the time and location of each unit leaving the premises as well as its intended destination so that AmerisourceBergen has a complete record of the history of all RFID tagged drugs. " ...

Via AmerisourceBergen: AmerisourceBergen Announces Innovative Track and Trace Program for the Pharmaceutical Supply Channel

IBM RFID Pharma: Drug License Plate ...

IBM unveils RFID system that creates a digital license plate for drugs through the pharmaceutical supply chain. The system is comprised of software and services that leverage RFID technology to provide unique identification as the item and sku level. The identifier instantly connects the item to the proper pharmaceutical data. ...

... "The system makes it more difficult for counterfeit drugs to get to market, protecting consumers by helping ensure the drugs they receive match the prescription from their physician. With nearly 8 percent of the world's prescriptions proving counterfeit each year, the US Food and Drug Administration has cited RFID as the most promising technology to ensure that the medicine in the bottle is exactly what the doctor ordered. The global pharmaceutical supply chain is highly complicated. From the point of manufacture to the point of sale, drugs can change hands as many as ten times. IBM's software and services are designed to help manufacturers protect product from theft and fraud and avoid replacement costs for product recalls and tarnished brand value. The IBM RFID system for pharmaceutical track and trace uses blended RFID software and services to automatically capture and track the movement of drugs through the supply chain. RFID tags are embedded on products at the unit, case and pallet level and authenticate the product from manufacturer to wholesalers to hospitals and pharmacies. Each tag contains a unique identifier -- like a license plate -- that can be linked back to descriptive product information such as dosage and strength, lot number, manufacturer and expiration date. " ...

IBM RFID Pharma: Drug License Plate: Via IBM: IBM Taps RFID for Pharma Industry ...

Cephalon RFID Pilot: Drug Tracking ...

Cephalon RFID Pilot: Drug Tracking: Cephalon Selects OAT Foundation Suite for Item-Level Drug Tracking Pilot: OAT Foundation Suite Powers RFID Initiative to Drive Supply Chain Efficiencies and Ensure Patient Safety ...

Cephalon pilots RFID drug tracking as products move through the value chain to market. Broader RFID drug tracking implementation is expected, upon conclusion of the pilot period ...

... "OATSystems®, Inc., the recognized RFID framework leader, announced that Cephalon, Inc, an international biopharmaceutical company, has selected OAT Foundation Suite as the RFID software platform for use in a pilot program for tracking branded pharmaceuticals across the supply chain. For the pilot, OAT Foundation Suite will deliver end-to-end visibility of Cephalon’s products as they move across owned and outsourced facilities as well as selected drug wholesaler trading partners. Once the pilot project has proven successful, Cephalon will implement RFID utilizing the OAT Foundation Suite. " ...

OATSystems, Inc. is the recognized RFID framework leader with software that empowers businesses to achieve competitive advantage from radio-frequency identification (RFID). As pioneers in the development of RFID technology, OAT has been setting the standard in RFID for over half a decade and is responsible for industry firsts that include the largest scale and largest scope of deployments, as well as the most innovative approaches to providing enterprise-wide RFID solutions.

Additional resources on RFID pilots for drug tracking:

Purdue Pharma announced that it is placing RFID tags on bottles of the pain reliever OxyContin (oxycodone) to make it easier to authenticate, as well as to track and trace the medication. OxyContin, which is a controlled substance, has been subject to abuse, theft, and diversion. Based on the availability of sufficient RFID tags, Purdue also plans to tag bottles of Palladone (hydromorphone), a newly approved product to treat persistent moderate-to-severe pain.

Nine months after an FDA task force promoted the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) on drug packaging and labeling to prevent fake products from entering the supply chain, agency officials on November 15 announced that at least four pharmaceutical makers are participating in pilot projects or studies to test the effectiveness of RFID in combating counterfeiting.

GlaxoSmithKline [NYSE: GSK) announced that it will begin using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in the next 12 to 18 months on at least one product deemed susceptible to counterfeiting in order to more effectively monitor its progress from the company to the patient. GSK is partnering in this pilot project with the US Food and Drug Administration, which is encouraging the use of RFID technology to protect American patients from the growing risk of counterfeit and diverted medicines.

RFID Electronic Pedigree Pilot ...

SupplyScape RFID Electronic Pedigree Pilot: SupplyScape and Unisys Pilot Pharmaceutical Industry's First Electronic Pedigree System for Commercial Drugs

... "The pilot project is the pharmaceutical industry's first electronic drug pedigree, which is a certificate of authenticity detailing a drug's movement through the supply chain. It will track the distribution of one of Purdue Pharma L.P.'s analgesic products from the manufacturing facility to the seventh largest wholesaler in the U.S., H. D. Smith. Using a universal electronic pedigree model, the system is designed to help reduce the risk of counterfeit medicines being introduced into the legitimate supply chain. The pedigree management system is a first-of-its-kind, open system, with technology designed to certify medicines as legitimate throughout the supply chain. The system uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or barcodes to match each medication container with its corresponding pedigree. Without the pedigree, it is difficult to determine where a drug has been and if it is authentic. " ...

Unisys is a worldwide information technology services and solutions company. Our people combine expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure and server technology with precision thinking and relentless execution to help clients, in more than 100 countries, quickly and efficiently achieve competitive advantage. Purdue Pharma L.P. and its independent, associated U.S. companies are privately held pharmaceutical companies known for pioneering research on persistent pain. Headquartered in Stamford, CT, Purdue is engaged in the research, development, production, and distribution of both prescription and over-the-counter medicines and hospital products. Headquartered in Springfield, Illinois, H. D. Smith is the largest privately held national full-service wholesale distributor that provides a complete line of pharmaceuticals, OTCs, HBAs, surgical supplies, seasonal merchandise and a wide array of marketing programs to retail, hospital and institutional pharmacies. The company has five distribution facilities in California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas that service major markets in the west, mid-west, southwestern and northeastern United States, and will soon open a sixth distribution center located in southern Florida that is expected to be fully operational in early 2005.

Drug RFID Technology Awareness ...

Pharmaceutical Education Associates Speech in 2005

Remarks by Lester M. Crawford, D.V.M., Ph.D., Acting Commissioner of Food and Drugs ...

... "In November, 2004, FDA stepped up its effort by issuing a compliance policy guide to facilitate pilot projects for the use of Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) Technology in the pharmaceutical sector. RFID is the cornerstone technology in the fight against counterfeit drugs because of its ability to track, trace and authenticate packages of drugs. Using state-of-art electronic technology on every product, RFID allows the creation of an electronic pedigree from the point of manufacture to the point of dispensing. An electronic pedigree is a record of all the places where drugs have been and who has had it. It will minimize fraudulent mishandling and mischief to occur to tagged drug products. I announced a few months ago that Pfizer and Purdue Pharma have already joined FDA action in implementing RFID and more are following suit. The FDA expects to see widespread adoption of RFID technology by the pharmaceutical industry by the year 2007. " ...

Drug Supply Radiofrequency Identification Technology

FDA Announces New Initiative to Protect the U.S. Drug Supply Through the Use Of Radiofrequency Identification Technology

... "Purdue Pharma announced that it is placing RFID tags on bottles of OxyContin to make it easier to authenticate as well as track and trace this pain medication. Based on the availability of sufficient RFID tags, Purdue also plans to tag bottles of Palladone, a newly approved product to treat persistent, moderate to severe pain. Oxycontin, which is a controlled substance has been subject to abuse as well as theft and diversion. FDA also acknowledged the leadership of Johnson & Johnson in establishing standards for RFID technology and participating in RFID pilot studies. Johnson & Johnson will continue to collaborate with industry partners to develop standards for ePedigree." ...

Pharma RFID Symposium on RFID Enabling Secure Drug Supply ...

Pharma RFID Symposium on RFID Enabling Secure Drug Supply: Pharmaceutical Technology Congress Highlights Discussion of ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... Three pre-conference symposia focus on RFID: Maintaining secure drug supply through systems integration, information security and regulatory compliance, ERP ...

... On March 14-16, hundreds of business process owners from sales and marketing, supply chain, clinical development, and IT professionals from around the world will meet in Philadelphia to discuss how they will address the upcoming regulatory scrutiny. Senior IT and business process technology users benchmark integrated platform and technological tools to improve pharma and biotech compliance programs across the enterprise. New discussion topics include which regulatory mandates are on the horizon and how major pharmaceutical companies are gearing up their compliance efforts. ...

The Institute for International Research (IIR) is the world's leading knowledge and skills transfer company with a global network of 44 companies and 109 operating units. IIR works with more than 600,000 business executives annually, providing them with knowledge and skills through training, conferences, seminars, e-learning, blended solutions, publications, exhibitions, consulting and mentoring.

Additional resources on a secure drug supply enabled by RFID technology ...

Comparing HF and UHF RFID technologies: that can keep the drug supply safe and secure. ... a built-in anti-collision feature that enables multiple simultaneous ... Data is stored on the RFID tag instead of ...

Track and Trace Solutions for the Life Sciences Supply Chain: File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat ... Building track-and-trace systems with secure bar code and RFID labeling techniques enables companies to benefit from their marking efforts. ...

Drugmaker Ships RFID Tags With OxyContin: group charged with monitoring RFID adoption within ... for IT Changes Tripwire software enables organizations to ... Provides speedy, secure remote PC access, dynamic ...

Pharma RFID: Use of RFID Technology by Pharmaceutical Industry to Rapidly ...

From Business Wire (press release), CA ... Potential cost savings from the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) will spur increasing use of the technology within pharmaceutical company supply ...

... Potential cost savings from the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) will spur increasing use of the technology within pharmaceutical company supply chains during the next 18 months, according to research by META Group (Nasdaq: METG), a leading provider of information technology (IT) research, advisory services, and strategic consulting. Although pharmaceutical organizations have been using RFID technology for years in niche applications such as tracking lab samples, these companies have recently begun examining the potential benefits of using RFID to track finished products. ...

META Group is a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services, and strategic consulting. Delivering objective and actionable guidance, META Group's experienced analysts and consultants are trusted advisors to IT and business executives around the world. Our unique collaborative models and dedicated customer service help clients be more efficient, effective, and timely in their use of IT to achieve their business goals. Visit metagroup.com for more details on our high-value approach.

Pharma RFID: Alternative to RFID in Pharmaceutical Drug Packaging

From PR Newswire (press release) ... Mimicking the future potential of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), the ESC(TM) System uses serialized 2D Composite bar codes to encode individual product ...

... Secure Symbology, Inc., a global supply chain solutions company, is announcing the release of its patent-pending Electronic Sequence Code(TM) System (ESC(TM)). The Company is initially targeting the pharmaceutical sector with its ESC(TM) System, which can provide immediate track, trace, anti-counterfeiting and electronic pedigree capabilities throughout the pharmaceutical supply chain. Mimicking the future potential of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), the ESC(TM) System uses serialized 2D Composite bar codes to encode individual product information in a very small footprint that can be applied on individual unit-dose drug products or any subsequent packaging level at current production line speeds. ...

Secure Symbology, Inc. is a global corporation specializing in innovative serialized bar code solutions for companies looking to increase profits by identifying and tracking their products as they travel through the supply chain.

Drug RFID: Pfizer hit by fresh counterfeit Viagra scam

From In Pharma, France ... in common with other drugmakers it is also exploring the use of various track-and-trace technologies, including radiofrequency identification (RFID), to shore ...

Drug RFID: First US drug wholesaler adopts RFID

From In Pharma, France ... HD Smith has followed the lead of retail giant Wal-Mart in adopting a system of electronic product code (EPC) and radiofrequency identification (RFID) to track ...

Pharma RFID: Drug Companies Try to Make RFID Work

From Computerworld Mobile & Wireless, Apr 5, 2004 ... Jonathan Loretto global technology lead for RFID at Cap Gemini Ernst Young noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in February its plan for using RFID devices to track the distribution of prescription drugs QuickLink . Pharmaceutical companies are still trying to sort out the best way to meet both the FDA and retail mandates according to Loretto ...

Today's News About RFID Technology...

Bowen Seeks Balance in RFID Law RFID Journal - March 1, 2004—California State Senator Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach), author of a new bill aimed at curtailing the use of RFID tags to track consumers, says ...  

Technology News: Personal Tech: RFID Brings Legislation in US Protest in Europe Privacy concerns over Radio Frequency Identification RFID technology are the basis of both proposed legislation in the United States and protest in Europe. The protests have been linked to German retailer Metro Group's plan to use the tracking technology for items in its supermarket stores...

Jamming Tags Block RFID Scanners A security technology company introduces a device that can prevent radio-frequency tags from being tracked. It could protect the privacy of shoppers but it won't come out for a few years -- and it could be banned...

Pharma RFIDs: Efforts Aim at Simplifying Complications March 1 2004 - News By Salvatore Salamone Bio-IT World online 03 01 04 The FDA is stepping up its efforts to get pharmaceutical companies to use radio frequency ID RFID technology to improve the safety of drugs throughout the supply chain. But pharmaceutical companies are quickly discovering that applying RFID technology to drugs is more complicated than using it on other retail products...

Exel tests radio identification technology Logistics giant Exel is to test Radio Frequency Identification technology in monitoring extended supply chains from China to Europe. Simply described as a 8220 unique bar code that talks 8221 RFID uses radio waves to exchange information between a tag and a receiver-reader. The technology is being touted in the US as the answer to demands for improved security in global supply chains...

PeopleSoft upgrades supply chain offerings adds RFID support Enterprise application software provider PeopleSoft announced products and product enhancements at the National Manufacturing Week trade show in Chicago last week. First its EnterpriseOne SRM supplier relationship management product now includes functionality to allow users to better align their inbound supply chain to real-time demand according to the company. Buyer Workspace is a portal that provides a view of key tasks enabling buyers to streamline the inbound supply chain and manage and prioritize multiple suppliers...